Copy of Frankenstein 12/9 (6/23/2025)
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Review Homework
Volume III, Chapter 1, Pages 122–129
1 Day after day, week after week, passed away on my return to Geneva; and I could not collect the courage to recommence my work. I feared the vengeance of the disappointed fiend, yet I was unable to overcome my repugnance to the task which was enjoined me. I found that I could not compose a female without again devoting several months to profound study and laborious disquisition.
2 I had heard of some discoveries having been made by an English philosopher, the knowledge of which was material to my success, and I sometimes thought of obtaining my father’s consent to visit England for this purpose; but I clung to every pretence of delay, and could not resolve to interrupt my returning tranquillity.
3 My health, which had hitherto declined, was now much restored; and my spirits, when unchecked by the memory of my unhappy promise, rose proportionably. My father saw this change with pleasure, and he turned his thoughts towards the best method of eradicating the remains of my melancholy, which every now and then would return by fits, and with a devouring blackness overcast the approaching sunshine.
4 At these moments I took refuge in the most perfect solitude. I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds, and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless.
5 It was after my return from one of these rambles that my father, calling me aside, thus addressed me—
6 “I confess, my son, that I have always looked forward to your marriage with your cousin as the tie of our domestic comfort, and the stay of my declining years. You were attached to each other from your earliest infancy; you studied together, and appeared, in dispositions and tastes, entirely suited to one another."
7 “My dear father, my future hopes and prospects are entirely bound up in the expectation of our union.”
8 “The expression of your sentiments on this subject, my dear Victor, gives me more pleasure than I have for some time experienced. If you feel thus, we shall assuredly be happy, however present events may cast a gloom over us."
9 “We have been unfortunate, and recent events have drawn us from that every-day tranquillity befitting my years and infirmities. You are younger; yet I do not suppose, possessed as you are of a competent fortune, that an early marriage would at all interfere with any future plans of honour and utility that you may have formed."
10 “Do not suppose, however, that I wish to dictate happiness to you. Interpret my words with candour and answer me, I conjure you, with confidence and sincerity.”
11 I revolved rapidly in my mind a multitude of thoughts, and endeavoured to arrive at some conclusion Alas! To me the idea of an immediate union with my cousin was one of horror and dismay. I was bound by a solemn promise, which I had not yet fulfilled, and dared not break. I must perform my engagement, and let the monster depart with his mate, before I allowed myself to enjoy the delight of an union from which I expected peace.
12 I remembered the necessity of journeying to England to those philosophers of that country, whose knowledge and discoveries were of indispensable use to me in my present undertaking.
13 Our plan was soon arranged. I should travel to Strasburgh, where Clerval would join me. It was agreed that the tour should occupy the space of two years.
14 My union with Elizabeth should take place immediately on my return to Geneva.
15 “These two years will pass swiftly, and it will be the last delay that will oppose itself to your happiness. And, indeed, I earnestly desire that period to arrive, when we shall all be united, and neither hopes or fears arise to disturb our domestic calm.”
16 It was in the latter end of August that I departed. Elizabeth approved of the reasons of my departure, and only regretted that she had not the same opportunities. She wept as she bade me farewell, and entreated me to return happy and tranquil.
17 “We all depend upon you.”
18 I threw myself into the carriage that was to convey me away. I remembered only to order that my chemical instruments should be packed to go with me: for I resolved to fulfil my promise while abroad, and return, if possible, a free man. Filled with dreary imaginations, my eyes were fixed and unobserving.
19 After some days spent in listless indolence I arrived at Strasburgh, where I waited two days for Clerval.
20 Alas, how great was the contrast between us! He was alive to every new scene; joyful when he saw the beauties of the setting sun, and more happy when he beheld it rise.
21 “This is what it is to live; now I enjoy existence!
22 But you, my dear Frankenstein, wherefore are you desponding and sorrowful?”
23 In truth, I was occupied by gloomy thoughts, and neither saw the descent of the evening star, nor the golden sun-rise reflected in the Rhine.
24 We had agreed to descend the Rhine in a boat from Strasburgh to Rotterdam, whence we might take shipping for London.
25 Even I, depressed in mind, and my spirits continually agitated by gloomy feelings, was pleased.
26 I lay at the bottom of the boat, and, as I gazed on the cloudless blue sky, I seemed to drink in a tranquillity to which I had long been a stranger. And if these were my sensations, who can describe those of Henry? He felt as if he had been transported to Fairyland, and enjoyed a happiness seldom tasted by man.
27 “I have seen the most beautiful scenes of my own country; but this country, Victor, pleases me more than all those wonders.”
28 Clerval! beloved friend! He was a being formed in the “very poetry of nature.” His wild and enthusiastic imagination was chastened by the sensibility of his heart. His soul overflowed with ardent affections, and his friendship was of that devoted and wondrous nature that the worldly-minded teach us to look for only in the imagination. And where does he now exist? Is this gentle and lovely being lost for ever? Has this mind so replete with ideas, which formed a world, whose existence depended on the life of its creator; has this mind perished? Does it now only exist in my memory? No, it is not thus; your form so divinely wrought, and beaming with beauty, has decayed, but your spirit still visits and consoles your unhappy friend.
29 At length we saw the numerous steeples of London, St. Paul’s towering above all, and the Tower famed in English history.
Volume III, Chapter 2
Volume III, Chapter 2, Pages 134–135
1 It was a place fitted for such a work, being hardly more than a rock, whose high sides were continually beaten upon by the waves.
2 On the whole island there were but three miserable huts, and one of these was vacant when I arrived. This I hired. It contained but two rooms. The thatch had fallen in, the walls were unplastered, and the door was off its hinges.
3 As I proceeded in my labour, it became every day more horrible to me.
4 Sometimes I could not prevail on myself to enter my laboratory for several days; and at other times I toiled day and night in order to complete my work. It was indeed a filthy process in which I was engaged. I went to it in cold blood, and my heart often sickened at the work of my hands.
5 I worked on, and my labour was already considerably advanced. I looked towards its completion with a tremulous and eager hope.
1
Think about explicit meaning. Victor __________to make a lot of progress in creating the female creature.
1
Consider implicit meaning. Based on this passage, how does Victor feel about the task he has promised to complete? How can you tell?
Consider implicit meaning. Based on this passage, how does Victor feel about the task he has promised to complete? How can you tell?
Volume III, Chapter 3
Volume III, Chapter 3, Pages 136–139
1 I sat one evening in my laboratory; the sun had set, and the moon was just rising from the sea; I had not sufficient light for my employment, and I remained idle, in a pause of consideration of whether I should leave my labour for the night, or hasten its conclusion by an unremitting attention to it.
2 Three years before I was engaged in the same manner, and had created a fiend whose unparalleled barbarity had desolated my heart, and filled it for ever with the bitterest remorse.
3 I was now about to form another being, of whose dispositions I was alike ignorant; she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate, and delight, for its own sake, in murder and wretchedness. He had sworn to quit the neighbourhood of man, and hide himself in deserts; but she had not; and she, who in all probability was to become a thinking and reasoning animal, might refuse to comply with a compact made before her creation.They might even hate each other; the creature who already lived loathed his own deformity, and might he not conceive a greater abhorrence for it when it came before his eyes in the female form? She also might turn with disgust from him to the superior beauty of man; she might quit him, and he be again alone, exasperated by the fresh provocation of being deserted by one of his own species. Even if they were to leave Europe, and inhabit the deserts of the new world, yet one of the first results of those sympathies for which the daemon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth. Had I a right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? The wickedness of my promise burst upon me.
4 I trembled, and my heart failed within me; when, on looking up, I saw, by the light of the moon, the daemon at the casement. A ghastly grin wrinkled his lips as he gazed on me. Yes, he had followed me in my travels; he had loitered in forests, hid himself in caves, or taken refuge in wide and desert heaths; and he now came to mark my progress, and claim the fulfilment of my promise.
5 The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness and, with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew.
6 I left the room, and, locking the door, made a solemn vow in my own heart never to resume my labours.
1
Victor finally decides __________ creating a companion for the creature.
1
How committed is Victor to his decision to stop making the companion? How do you know?
How committed is Victor to his decision to stop making the companion? How do you know?
Bride of Frankenstein
1
What is one way this film version differs from Mary Shelley's original story?
What is one way this film version differs from Mary Shelley's original story?
1
Based on the film clip, which of Victor's fears seemed to come true? What makes you think so?
Based on the film clip, which of Victor's fears seemed to come true? What makes you think so?
1
Why does Victor destroy the mate he was creating right after seeing the creature's face in the window? Include evidence from the text, and be sure to explain what each piece of evidence shows. (You may also use evidence from the illustrations.) [100 words, 10 minutes]
Why does Victor destroy the mate he was creating right after seeing the creature's face in the window? Include evidence from the text, and be sure to explain what each piece of evidence shows. (You may also use evidence from the illustrations.) [100 words, 10 minutes]
Homework
Volume III, Chapter 3, Pages 136–139
1 I sat one evening in my laboratory; the sun had set, and the moon was just rising from the sea; I had not sufficient light for my employment, and I remained idle, in a pause of consideration of whether I should leave my labour for the night, or hasten its conclusion by an unremitting attention to it.
2 Three years before I was engaged in the same manner, and had created a fiend whose unparalleled barbarity had desolated my heart, and filled it for ever with the bitterest remorse.
3 I was now about to form another being, of whose dispositions I was alike ignorant; she might become ten thousand times more malignant than her mate, and delight, for its own sake, in murder and wretchedness. He had sworn to quit the neighbourhood of man, and hide himself in deserts; but she had not; and she, who in all probability was to become a thinking and reasoning animal, might refuse to comply with a compact made before her creation.They might even hate each other; the creature who already lived loathed his own deformity, and might he not conceive a greater abhorrence for it when it came before his eyes in the female form? She also might turn with disgust from him to the superior beauty of man; she might quit him, and he be again alone, exasperated by the fresh provocation of being deserted by one of his own species. Even if they were to leave Europe, and inhabit the deserts of the new world, yet one of the first results of those sympathies for which the daemon thirsted would be children, and a race of devils would be propagated upon the earth. Had I a right, for my own benefit, to inflict this curse upon everlasting generations? The wickedness of my promise burst upon me.
4 I trembled, and my heart failed within me; when, on looking up, I saw, by the light of the moon, the daemon at the casement. A ghastly grin wrinkled his lips as he gazed on me. Yes, he had followed me in my travels; he had loitered in forests, hid himself in caves, or taken refuge in wide and desert heaths; and he now came to mark my progress, and claim the fulfilment of my promise.
5 The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness and, with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew.
6 I left the room, and, locking the door, made a solemn vow in my own heart never to resume my labours.
Required
1
Part 1: What does Victor's internal debate tell us about his character?
Part 1: What does Victor's internal debate tell us about his character?
Required
1
Part 2: Which paragraph best supports the answer to the previous question?
Part 2: Which paragraph best supports the answer to the previous question?
Volume III, Chapter 3, Pages 140–147
1 Several hours passed, and I remained near my window gazing on the sea; it was almost motionless, for the winds were hushed, and all nature reposed under the eye of the quiet moon. I felt the silence, although I was hardly conscious of its extreme profundity, until my ear was suddenly arrested by the paddling of oars near the shore, and a person landed close to my house.
2 In a few minutes after, I heard the creaking of my door, as if some one endeavoured to open it softly. I trembled from head to foot; I was overcome by the sensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when you in vain endeavour to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to the spot.
3 Presently I heard the sound of footsteps along the passage; the door opened, and the wretch whom I dreaded appeared. Shutting the door, he approached me, and said, in a smothered voice—
4 “You have destroyed the work which you began; what is it that you intend?
5 “Do you dare to break your promise? I have endured toil and misery, incalculable fatigue, and cold, and hunger; do you dare destroy my hopes?”
6 “Begone! I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself, equal in deformity and wickedness.”
7 “You believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. You are my creator, but I am your master—obey!”
8 “The hour of my weakness is past, and the period of your power is arrived. Your threats cannot move me to do an act of wickedness. Shall I, in cool blood, set loose upon the earth a daemon, whose delight is in death and wretchedness. Begone!”
9 “Your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness for ever. Are you to be happy, while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness? Beware; for I am fearless. You shall repent of the injuries you inflict.”
10 “I go; but I shall be with you on your wedding-night.”
11 All was again silent; but his words rung in my ears. Why had I not followed him, and closed with him in mortal strife? I shuddered to think who might be the next victim sacrificed to his insatiate revenge.
12 And then I thought again of his words—“I shall be with you on your wedding-night.” In that hour I should die, and at once satisfy and extinguish his malice.
13 The next morning, at day-break, I summoned sufficient courage, and unlocked the door of my laboratory. The remains of the half-finished creature I had destroyed lay scattered on the floor, and I almost felt as if I had mangled the living flesh of a human being. With trembling hand I conveyed the instruments out of the room; but I reflected that I ought not to leave the relics of my work to excite the horror and suspicion of the peasants, and I accordingly put them into a basket, with a great quantity of stones, and laying them up, determined to throw them into the sea that very night.
14 Between two and three in the morning the moon rose; and I then, putting my basket aboard a little skiff, sailed out about four miles from the shore. The scene was perfectly solitary. I took advantage of the darkness, and cast my basket into the sea.
15 I listened to the gurgling sound as it sunk, and stretched myself at the bottom of the boat. I heard the sound of the boat, as its keel cut through the waves; the murmur lulled me, and in a short time I slept soundly.
16 I do not know how long I remained in this situation, but when I awoke I found that the sun had already mounted considerably. The waves continually threatened the safety of my little skiff. I found that the wind must have driven me far from the coast from which I had embarked.
17 I had already been out many hours, and felt the torment of a burning thirst, a prelude to my other sufferings. I looked upon the sea, it was to be my grave.
18 “Fiend, your task is already fulfilled!”
19 Some hours passed thus; but by degrees, as the sun declined towards the horizon, the wind died away into a gentle breeze, and the sea became free from breakers. But these gave place to a heavy swell; I felt sick, and hardly able to hold the rudder, when suddenly I saw a line of high land towards the south.
20 How mutable are our feelings, and how strange is that clinging love we have of life even in the excess of misery!
21 I easily perceived the traces of cultivation and found myself suddenly transported back to the neighbourhood of civilized man.
22 As I was occupied in fixing the boat, several people crowded towards the spot. They seemed very much surprised at my appearance; but, instead of offering me any assistance, whispered together with gestures that at any other time might have produced in me a slight sensation of alarm.
23 “My good friends, will you be so kind as to tell me the name of this town, and inform me where I am?”
24 “You will know that soon enough. Maybe you are come to a place that will not prove much to your taste; but you will not be consulted as to your quarters, I promise you.”
25 “Why do you answer me so roughly? Surely it is not the custom of Englishmen to receive strangers so inhospitably.”
26 “I do not know what the custom of the English may be; but it is the custom of the Irish to hate villains.”
27 “Come, Sir, you must follow me to Mr. Kirwin’s, to give an account of yourself.”
28 “Who is Mr. Kirwin?”
29 “Mr. Kirwin is a magistrate; and you are to give an account of the death of a gentleman who was found murdered here last night.”
30 This answer startled me; but I presently recovered myself. I was innocent; that could easily be proved: accordingly I followed my conductor in silence, and was led to one of the best houses in the town. Little did I then expect the calamity that was in a few moments to overwhelm me, and extinguish in horror and despair all fear of ignominy or death.
Required
2
What does each character say in the conversation between Victor and the creature? Drag each paraphrase to the correct box.
1. Victor ___________________________________________________
2. The Creature _____________________________________________
Other Answer Choices:
I am not going to make the same mistake twice.
If I can't be happy, you can't be happy.
Required
1
How does the conversation between Victor and the creature end?
How does the conversation between Victor and the creature end?
Required
1
Part 1: As the creature is leaving, he says “I go; but I shall be with you on your wedding-night” (142). How does Victor interpret his meaning?
Part 1: As the creature is leaving, he says “I go; but I shall be with you on your wedding-night” (142). How does Victor interpret his meaning?
Required
1
Part 2: Which paragraph best supports the answer to the previous question?
Part 2: Which paragraph best supports the answer to the previous question?
Required
1
Victor cleans up his laboratory and throws the mess he made into the ocean. He does this to avoid being accused of __________
Required
1
Toward the end of the passage, Victor is accused of __________
Required
1
What is Victor's attitude toward death at this point in the story? Has his attitude about death changed over the course of the story?
What is Victor's attitude toward death at this point in the story? Has his attitude about death changed over the course of the story?